Follow JPL

NASA's OCO-2 Observatory Ready for Launch

Readying NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 for launch, a technician attaches the observatory to the payload attach system in a clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Image credit: NASA/U.S. Air Force 30th Space Wing› Larger view

The launch of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission (OCO-2) at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, is scheduled for Tuesday, July 1. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 2 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket at VAFB is targeted for 2:56 a.m. PDT (5:56 a.m. EDT) at the opening of a 30-second launch window.

OCO-2 is NASA's first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth's climate. OCO-2 will provide a new tool for understanding the human and natural sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the natural "sinks" that absorb carbon dioxide and help control its buildup.

The observatory will measure the global geographic distribution of these sources and sinks and study their changes over time.

The spacecraft's final circular polar orbit will be 438 miles (705 kilometers) at an inclination of 98.2 degrees.

PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCES

The prelaunch news conference and mission science briefing will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. PDT (7 to 9 p.m. EDT) on Sunday, June 29 at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The briefing will be carried live on NASA Television and streamed on NASA.gov.

An OCO-2 mission science briefing will be held immediately following the prelaunch news conference. Presenting the mission science objectives will be:

Ken Jucks, OCO-2 Program Scientist - NASA Headquarters

David Crisp, OCO-2 Science Team Leader - JPL

Annmarie Eldering, OCO-2 Deputy Project Scientist - JPL

MEDIA/SOCIAL MEDIA EVENT

Note: NASA has added a media and social media event to the activities at the OCO-2 launch site for Monday, June 30. From 9:30 to 11 a.m. PDT (12:30 to 2 p.m. EDT), NASA will host a live broadcast featuring interactive discussions, including an OCO-2 mission overview, launch details and an engineering and science panel. The event will be aired live on NASA TV and streamed on NASA.gov.

After launch, an OCO-2 post-launch news conference will be held at Vandenberg. Observatory and mission officials will provide the spacecraft status and discuss its state of health. The event will begin at 5:30 a.m. PDT (8:30 a.m. EDT) and will be carried live on NASA Television and on NASA.gov.

Extensive prelaunch and launch day coverage of the liftoff of OCO-2 aboard the Delta II rocket will be available on NASA's home page at: http://www.nasa.gov

A prelaunch webcast for the OCO-2 mission will be streamed on NASA's website at noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT) on Monday, June 30. To view the webcast and the countdown blog or to learn more about the OCO-2 mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/oco2

JPL is responsible for project management of OCO-2. Orbital Sciences Corp. built the OCO-2 spacecraft. NASA's Launch Services Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida provides launch management. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is NASA's launch service provider of the Delta II rocket.